Temporary holder for the keyboard cams of a linotype machine or the like



Oct. 22, 1957 R. P. M ELROY 2,310,242

TEMPQRARY HOLDER FOR THE KEYBOARD CAMS I OF" A LINOTYPE MACHINE OR THELIKE Filed June 1, 1956 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR. ROBERT P. Mc 1.20)

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Oct.22, 1957 R. P. MOUELROY TEMPORARY HOLDER .FOR THE KEYBOARD CAMS OF ALINOTYPE-MACHINE OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 1956 min 0 3E mm wh 5 m7 r 0 R, Y

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United States Patent Of TEMPORARY HOLDER FOR THE KEYBOARD egg 5s OF ALINOTYPE MACHINE OR THE L Robert P. McElroy, Queens Village, N. Y.

Application June 1, 1956, Serial No. 588,870

7 Claims. 7 01. 51-217 The subject of this invention is a novel andvaluable device for use as a temporary holder of a large plurality ofcertain operating units of a Linotype, Intertype or like machine, tofacilitate quick and easy cleaning and oiling of said units; said unitsbeing all alike, and, in the case of the Linotype machine, there being91 of said units.

Said units are the. so-called keyboard cams; each actually consistingofa cam rotatably mounted in a slot through an elongate carrier calledthe cam yoke. Beyond the opposite ends of said slot, said carrierterminally includes a pair of integral reduced extensions each in thenature of a plate in line with said slot. Such a unit will hereinbelowbe called a cam and yoke unit.

As is well known, it is necessary at comparatively frequent intervals toremove all the cam and yoke units from a Linotype machine, in order toremove rust, dirt and other undesirable additions to or accumulations oneach cam and yoke unit, and to oil each such unit, In the case of eachunit the removal of the rust, dirt, &c., has to be done at each oftheopposite side faces of the terminal plate like extensions of each of theyokes of the 91 units; and in the caseof each unit, the oiling thereofmust be effected at both the opposite sides of each of the yokes in awayto supply the oil properly relative to the pivot pinby way of whichthe cam is rotatably mounted in the slot of the yoke.

Also, as is well known, a Linotype machine is so constructedthatrelatively very little time is required to remove all the 91 units,preparatory to cleaning and oiling them, and to remount them in themachine after cleaning and oiling them, compared to the time required toclean and oil them when the cleaning and oiling are in the'usual wayperformed in regard to each unit individually, one after the other,incidental to handling of each unit as a single separately directlymanually grasped entity. This cleaningand oiling of each unit separatelyand during finger manipulation thereof is ordinarily done by themachinist in charge of maintaining the Linotype machine always in goodoperating condition, and consumes many hours of his time. But thedisadvantage last referred to is not the greatest, because between theremoval of the 91 units and their remounting in the machine after havingbeen cleaned and'oiled, the Linotype machine is of course out ofcommission. 7

' According to the present invention, a temporary holder for a"lar'geplurality of the cam and yoke units is provided as aforesaid, withsaid holder incorporating a plurality of relatively adjustable membersso constructed and arranged that, in one setting of one of said membersrelative to the other, a plurality of lines of said cam and yoke unitsare all held with one of the two opposite faces of each of the saidterminal plate-like extensions of each yoke exposed and positioned foreasy sweep over all of said faces of an instrumentality (as a hand-heldofthe holder members relative to theother, also, said 2,810,242 PatentedOct. 22, 1957 plurality of lines of said cam and yoke units are all heldwith the other of the two opposite faces of each of the said terminalplate-like extensions of each yoke exposed and positioned for easy sweepover all of said faces of said instrumentality for cleaning all of saidfaces by said sweep. In this setting of said holder, further, each yokein each of said plurality of lines thereof is exposed at one side of theyoke along a central length thereof whereat its cam and the pivot pinfor the latter are located, to facilitate easy oiling at that side 7 ofeach yoke.

In a setting of said holder different from that described in thepreceding paragraph, all the cam and yoke units in said plurality oflines thereof are still held securely in place, yet in such way that noweach yoke in said plurality of lines thereof is exposed at the otherside of each yoke along the central length of the yoke whereat its camand the pivot pin for the latter are located, to facilitate easy oilingat that side of the yoke.

Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter referred to or become apparent during the course of thefollowing description of a now preferred embodiment of the invention asillustratively shown in the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is aside elevational view of one of the like 91 cam and yoke units of aLinotype machine, drawn approximately to full size;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

- Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a holder for temporary use pursuant tothe invention in holding a large plurality of said units for the quickcleaning and oiling thereof;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing one of the aforesaidplurality of adjustable members of the holder, the last-named memberbeing hereinafter called the lesser or adjustable frame, after removalfrom the other of said members, the latter being hereinafter called themain frame.

Fig. 5 shows the parts illustrated in Fig. 3 as they would be seen werethe lesser or adjustable frame of Fig. 4 removed from the holder of Fig.3; except that in the case of one intended location for a cam and yokeunit a showing of said unit has been omitted, to illustrate the natureof the seating formations provided for each of said units;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail View, this being a sectiontaken on the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but a section taken on the line 7-7of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but with now the lesser framerepositioned on the main frame thereby to give the holder its differentsetting hereinabove second mentioned, that is, its setting differentfrom that shown of 'the'units 15' are seen as mounted in the holder, the

latter, whichas a whole is marked 16, may be made of a length such as toadapt the holder for securing therein any desired total of the units 15.A now preferred capacity for the holder, at any one use thereof forcleaning and oiling a plurality of the units 15, is such that 45 unitsare held at one and the same time, fifteen units in each of three rowsthereof.

Each unit 15, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and as is well known,comprises a cam 17 in an elongate yoke 18 having lengthwisely thereof aslot 1?; the arrangement being such that said cam, mounted on a pivotpin 20 extending across said slot,'is loosely rotatively suspended inthe yoke 18. Also as is well known and as shown in.

Fig. 2, the cam 17 is comprised of two like spaced plates locked againstmovement one elativeto the other. by the;

known, a Linotype keyboard has 91 keys each at; -the.

outer end of a keyboard lever, in combination with an arrangement suchthaton'depression of any one of said keys its lever moves to cause arocking of a trigger thereabove normally holding a yoke 18 of theassociated unit 15, said yoke hung from a suitable pivot element by aidof a hook bill 22 on the yoke, from dropping at its right hand end asseen in Fig. 1; said dropping of said yoke end moving thepin 21 fromdetention. by a depending interceptor member, and in consequence freeingthe cam to rotate by its own weight about itspivot pin in a'clockwisedirection as seen in Fig. 1-thereby, in turn, to bring a serrated edgeportion of the cam into engagement with a rubber roller .therebelow andcontinuously rotating in a direction such that by its engagement withthe said edge portion of the cam the yoke is forced to function asanupwardly thrusting lever to cause rise of a rod to release theappropriate matrix of the Linotype machine.

As most clearly shown in Figs. 1 .and 2, the hook bill 22, a dependingone, is part of a book formation of a blade-like reduced front endextension 23 of the main body of the yoke 18, and at the rear end ofsaid yokes main body there is a blade-like reduced extension 24. Theopposite faces of both said extensions, or blades as they willhereinbelow be called, are parallel and plane, and must frequently becleaned of rust, dirt and other undesirable accumulations.

The holder, desirably made of aluminum or the like for lightness ofweight, and as a whole as aforesaid designated 16, incorporates a mainframe,this main frame as a whole designated 25, comprising two laterallyextending end pieces 26 and 27 joined by three strips or bars 28, 29 and30. The end piece 26 is shown undercut along its length across the mainframe (Fig.. 6) to provide a groove 31 for receiving in slide relationthereto a tongue 32 formed on one end of the lesser or adjustable frameof the holder, which latter frame is as a whole marked 33. Said frame33, as best seenfrom Fig. 4, also comprises two endpieces, theserespectively marked 34. and 35, and joined by three strips or bars 36,37and 38. As willbe noted it is the end piece 34 which carries the tongue32.

The bars 28, 29 and 30 of the main frame 25, all said bars of the samewidth, are uniformly spaced asshown, as are the bars 36, 37 and 38 ofthe lesser frame 33, although as shown all said bars 36, 37 and 38,while of the .same width, are of less width than the bars 28, 29 and 30.

A means is provided for readily temporarily lockingthe holder 16 ineither of its two settings; one of said settings being that shown inFig. 3, wherein the bars 36,37 and 38 are positioned so that theircenter lines are in registry with the center lines of the bars 28, 29and 30, andthe other of said settings being that shown in Fig. 8, forexposing portions of the yokes 18 adjacent to thepivot pins 20 for theearns 17 of all the 45 units 15 in the frame .16.

Said means is shown as in part comprised of the tongue and groove couple3231 (see especially Figs. 6 and 8), and in part comprised of a springbolt of conventional typeset in a suitable sleeve or tube tight in ahole of suitable diameter extending acrossthe end piece. 27 of the mainframe 25. At its left hand end as seen in Figs. 3,

and 8 said bolt is shaped to provide a convenient handle provided in theend piece 35 of the lesser frame 33.

These recesses are so located that with the holder 16 in the settingshown in Fig. 3, the end 41 of the bolt is in the recess 42, and withsaid holder in the setting shown in Fig. 8, the end 41 of the bolt is inthe recess 43.

That one of the 45 seating formations (one for each of the 45 cam andyoke units 15 to be placed at any one time in the holder 16 in theembodiment thereof illustrated) hereinabove referred to in the briefdescription of Fig. 5, is in that view shown as comprising a cylindricalhole 44 extending all the way through the bar 29 0f the main frame 26and as also comprising a-pair of channels 45 and 46 in the upper portionof said bar 29, these channels aligned one with the other, and extendingin a direction transverse to the length of said bar and across the topof the hole 44 and offset to one side ofthe center of cylindricity ofsaid hole. The said channels 44 and 45 are of identical width and depth;the yoke 18 of a unit 15 along the length of said yoke between itsblades 23 and 24 is (disergarding its slot 19) of square crosssection;and said channels cross-sectionally, and said yoke cross-sectionally,are so dimensioned that one end of the yoke fits in the channel 45 soas. somewhat to project above the top of said channel as shown in Fig;6. Thus, with the two ends of the yoke dropped into the channels 44 and45, so that both of said yoke ends project upwardly to an equal extentabove the top of the bar 29, it is possible to construct the holder 16so that the bar 37, when arranged, and then locked as already explainedby locking the lesser frame 33 to the main frame 25, as shown in Fig. 3or as shown in Fig. 8, may be relied on to press down hard and tightagainst the upwardly projected portions of the yokes of all the cam andyoke units 15 in their seating formations along the entire length of thebar 37, with, at the same time, the bar 36 hearing down hard and tightagainst the upwardly projected portions of the yokes of all the units 15in their seating formations along the entire length of the bar 28, andalso with, at the same time, the bar 38 hearing down hard and tightagainst the upwardly projected portions of the yokes of all the units 15in their seating formations along the entire length of the bar 30.

It has already been mentioned thatin a Linotype machine there is a totalof 91 cam and yoke units 15. Also, the embodiment of the invention asillustrated in the drawings has been hereinabove stated to be preferablyone having a capacity for holding 45 of said units at any one use of theholder in connection with the cleaning and oiling of a large pluralityof the units. Thus, in the case of the holder 16, made to have acapacity in ac, cordance with the just stated preference, two such usesof the holder would take care of 90 of the 91 units 15, with one over,this to be cleaned and oiled while held directly in the hand as in thepresent practice relative to each of the 91 units. Or the holder couldbe so made as to have a main frame, as the main frame 25, carry-46instead of45 of the seat formations 4446, so that at one use of theholder a total of 45 units would be taken care of and at the nextfollowing use of the holder 0. total of 46 units would be taken care of.

Operation (1) With main frame 25 resting on a suitable support so that,as in Figs. 3 and 6 for example, its end pieces 26 and 27 are above itsstrips or bars 28, 29 and 30, the lesser frame 33 is detached andremoved; byfirst pulling on the handle end 40 of the spring bolt to freethe opposite end 41 (Fig. 5) of said bolt from its engagement with thatone of the recesses 42 and 43 (Figs. 4 and 7) lengthwisely into whichsaid bolt end may then be extended, then by lifting the end of saidlesser frame at the end piece 35 thereof high enough to permit said endpiece 35 to clear the end piece 27 of the main frame 25 sufficiently toallow the lesser frame to be pulled to the left to an extent fully todisengage the two frames at the right hand end of the holder 16, thatis, so as to slide the tongue 32 laterally thereof out of the groove 31.

(2) With now the lesser frame 33 removed from the main frame 25, 45 ofthe units 15 are placed as already described and as shown in Fig.relative to said frame 25, each such unit in, a seating formation likethat shown in this View at 44--46.

(3) After this, the lesser frame 33 is restored to the holder so as tobe disposed relative to the main frame 25 as shown in Fig. 3., and so asto be thus secured in place, by first sliding the tongue 32 laterallythereof into the groove 31 so as to position ,said tongue and groove (4)When, as will shortly below be explained, the lesser 7 frame 33 is to berepositioned on the main frame 25 as shown in Fig. 8, first the handle40 of the spring bolt is pulled to release the lock between the twoframes at the left hand end of the holder 16, then the lesser frame islifted at its left hand end sufficiently to permit shift of the righthand end of said frame to dispose its tongue 32 in the groove 31 at theright hand end of the main frame 25 as shown in Fig. 8, and then theoperations described in the last sentence of the immediately precedingparagraph are performed as therein described except that here it is therecess 43 (Fig. 4) into which is sent the end 41 (Fig. 5) of the springbolt on release of the bolt handle 40.

Following completion of the steps 1), (2) and (3) of the proceduresoutlined above, all the blades 23 and 24 of all 45 of the units 15 inthe holder 16, at the faces of said blades seen in Fig. 3, are cleanedquickly and easily by four series of manually performed sweepingsthereover by a suitable instrumentality, as a light emery clothconstituting a facing carried by a hand tool as aforesaid.

One of said sweepings is to clean, as to all the units 15 in the row orline thereof held in place by the bar 36 of the lesser frame 33, thefaces of the plates 24 seen in Fig. 3 and shown in that view as carriedat the upper ends of said units.

Another of said sweepings is to clean, as to all the units in the rowthereof just mentioned, the faces of the plates 23 of said units seen inFig. 3 and shown'in that view as carried at the lower ends of saidunits, and also, as to all the units in the row or line thereof held inplace by the bar 37 of the lesser frame, the faces of the plates 24 seenin Fig. 3 and shown in that view as carried at the upper ends of thelast-named row or line of units 15.

Another of said sweepings is to clean, as to all the units in the row ofunits held in place by said bar 37, the faces of the plates 23 seen inFig. 3 and shown in that view as carried at the lower ends of the unitsof said row, and also, as to all the units in the row or line thereofheld in place by the bar 38 of the lesser frame, the faces of the plates24 seen in Fig. 3 and shown in that view as carried at the upper ends ofthe last-named row or line of units 15.

Another of said sweepings is to clean, as to all the units in the row ofunits held in place by the bar 38, the faces of the plates 23 seen inFig. 3 and shown in that view as carried at the lower ends of saidunits.

In the case of each of said sweepings, merely two or three quicklyperformed light strokes of an instrumentality of the kind above referredto, each such stroke of a length just short of the spacing between theend pieces 34 and 25 of the lesser frame 33, has been found to be idealfor properly cleaning the faces of all the plates 23 and 24of .allthe.45 units 15 in the holder, at the facesof said plates seen in Fig.3.

Following completion of the four sweepings as just above described, theholder 16 as shown in Fig. 3 is turned upside down, and then fouradditional sweepings, these respectively corresponding to the foursweepings first performed, are done, for quick and easy cleaning, as toall 45 of the units 15, of the faces of their blades 23 and 24 oppositeto the faces thereof seen in Fig. 3.

Following completion of the said four additional sweepings, the holder16 is up-ended, With its end at the right in Fig. 3 lowermost, and nowthe required oiling of the pivot pins 20 of all the 45 units 15 iscommenced During this oiling, use may conveniently be made of aso-called oil pen. With the holder 16 set as to its two frames 25 and 33as shown in Fig. 3, and with the holder up-ended as just mentioned, thefirst oiling is done relative to the portions of said pivot pinsadjacent to the ends of said pins opposite to the ends thereof seen inFig. 3; this being possible because each seating formation 44 (Fig. 5)for the cam of a unit 15 is a cylindrical hole going all the way throughits carrying bar 28, 29 or 30 of the main frame 25. Since, as will benoted particularly from Fig. 1, the location of a pivot pin 20 is closerto what in Fig. 5 is the left side of a yoke 18 than to the oppositeside of said yoke, it is highly, desirable to have the yokes of theunits 15 so placed in the holder 16 that, when the latter is up-ended tofacilitate oiling as above, it will be, in the case of each of theyokes, the side of the yoke which is closer to its pivot pin 20 whichwill be uppermost; and that, it will be observed, is the advantageoussituation provided for by the manner in which all the seating formations44--46 are placed relative to that end of the holder 16 which whenlowermost (i. e., which does not carry the handle 40 of the spring bolt)can be squarely rested on a suitable flat support. Then, as an oil dropis applied to one unit after another, this oil may be sent downward intothe space between a side wall of the slot 19 and the adjacent face ofthe cam 17 of a unit 15 in a manner most effective to reach properly theadjacent end portion of the pivot pin 20 of said unit.

Following completion of the oiling step described in the immediatelypreceding paragraph, and with the holder 16 now laid fiat and with thelesser frame 33 uppermost as in Fig. 3, the hereinabove listed step (4)of the stated procedure is carried out, thereby to change the setting ofthe holder 16 from that shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 8.

Now, it will be noted, all the pivot pins 20 of all the units 15 and theadjacent portions of the yokes 18 of said units previously covered bythe bars 36, 37 and 38 of the lesser frame 33 will be suflicientlyuncovered to permit, following up-ending of the holder 16 as before, theonlyother oiling required to be done relative to the pivot pins 18 atthe portions of said pins opposite to the portions thereof previouslyoiled; which second oiling can easily be effected in the same manner andwith the same speed and efficiency as described in the second precedingparagraph hereof.

A feature of the invention, moreover, resides in the fact that, despitethe shifting of the bars 36, 37 and 38 of the lesser frame 33 laterallyof the bars 28, 29 and 30 of the main frame 25, there remains enoughoverlap of the narrower bars 36, 37 and 38 relative to the wider bars28, 29 and 30 to set up and maintain a good tight hold on all the units15 with the holder 16 in the setting thereof shown in Fig. 8. In thisconnection, attention is called again to Fig. 6, and to the statementhereinabove made that the bars 36, 37 and 38 are so included in theholder combination as to bear down hard on all the units 15 therebelow.Absolutely to insure this result, the yokes of said units are so seatedin a bar 28, 29 or 36, as the case may be, as to project upwardly asshown in Fig. 6 in the case of the yoke 18 there seen, above the saidbars 28, 29 and 30.

To 'per'init quick removal from the holder 16 of all the 45 units afterthe latter have been cleaned and oiled while in the holder as abovedescribed, all that is required, as will now be understood, is toperform step (1) of the hereinabove stated procedure to be carried out;and, after removal of said units (and after, if then desired, placing inthe main frame another large plurality of other units 15), all that isrequired, for restoration of the holder, 16 to its setting as showninFig. 3, is to perform step (3) of said procedure.

The present invention may be usednot only in connection with the cam andyoke units of a Linotype machine but also in the manner alreadydescribed in connection with the cam and yoke units of an Intertypemachine, by suitably modifying where and if necessary the seatingformations 4446. As is well known, said units of an Intertype machine,like the units 15 of a Linotype machine, incorporate cam pivot pinsneeding frequently to be oiled at the opposite end portions thereof andalso incorporate yokes carrying reduced terminal extensions in thenature of blades having opposite faces needing frequently to be cleanedof rust, dirt and other undesirable accumulations. Whenever in theappended claims a cam and yoke device is referred to, there is meant acam and yoke unit 15 of a Linotype machine, whether as nowmade or latersomewhat modified, and also a similar unit of an Intertype machine orthe like. i t

While a now preferred embodiment of the holder of the present inventionhas been described with great particularity of detail, it is to beunderstood that this has been done, of course, not for purposes oflimitation, but to illustrate and fully explain the various importantcapabilities of the invention. As will be understood, variations andmodifications are possible, as to materials used and dimensionsemployed, and parts of the improvements may be used without others. Thescope of protection contemplated is to be taken primarily if notentirely from the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for a plurality of cam and yoke units, said holdercomprising an elongate main frame incorporating a plurality oflongitudinally extending bars laterally spaced one from another, eachbar having spaced along its length a plurality of seating formationseach so shaped as to have fittable therein one of said units, anelongate lesser frame also. incorporating a plurality of longitudinallyextending bars laterally spaced onefrom another, and means partiallycarried by both frames and adjustable to insure placement of the lesserframe in one predetermined position relative to the mainframe thereby togive the holder one setting and alsootherwise'adjustable to insureplacement of the lesser frame inanother predetermined position relativeto the mainframe thereby to give the holder another setting, said barsbeing so placed in their frames and being of such widths that in thefirst named setting of the holder the bars of the lesser frame cover thecentral portions of said units and in the second named setting of theholder the bars of the lesser frame uncover the central portions of theunits but cover other portions of the-latter, whichlast named unitportions althoughoffset from the unit centers are sufiiciently close tosaid centers to securely maintain all the units in their said seatingformations in the bars on, the main frame.

2. A holder'as in claim 1, wherein each of said formation's inc1udes acylindrical hole going all the way through the bar carrying thatformation, each of said formations also including a pair of alignedchannels extending laterally across the upper side of said bar, saidchannels at their innerends opening into said hole.

3. A holder as in claim 1, wherein each of said formations includes acylindricalhole going all the way through the bar carrying thatformation, each of said formations also including a pair of alignedchannels extending laterally across the upper side of said bar, saidchannels at their inner ends opening into said hole, said channelsarranged along a line offset from the center of cylindricity of saidhole.

4. A holder as in claim 1, wherein said means includes a component atone end of the holder comprising a tongue and groove couple one memberof which couple is carried by and extended across the main frame and theother member of which is carried by and extended across the lesserframe.

, 5. A holder as in claim 1, wherein said means includes a componentatone end of the holder comprising a tongue and groove couple one memberof which couple is carried by and extended across the main frame and theother member of which is carried by and extended across the lesserframe, and wherein the direction of offset of said offset line is towardthe last-named end of the holder.

6. A holder as in claim 1, wherein each of said formations includes acylindrical hole going all the way through the bar carrying thatformation, each of said formations also including a pair of alignedchannels extending laterally across the upper side of said bar, saidchannels at their inner ends opening into said hole, each bar of themain frame being wider than a bar of the lesser frame.

7. A holder as in claim 1, wherein each of said formations includes acylindrical hole going all the way through the bar carrying thatformation, each of said formations also including a pair of alignedchannels extending lat erallyacross the upper side of said bar, saidchannels at their inner ends opening into said hole, each bar of themain frame being wider than a bar of the lesser frame, the bars of themain frame being of equal width and the bars of the lesser frame alsobeing of equal width, the main frame having at least three bars equallyspaced one from another and the lesser frame having at least three barsequally spaced one from another.

No references cited

